


la zéro heure

by kibousuru



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 5+1 Things, Can i just say how much i love 5+1 things, F/M, I think it's v obvious that i p much post chapters when they're done so it's probably not that good, Light Angst, New Years kiss, Slow Burn, Technically a slow burn even though it shows five snapshots over five years of knowing each other, genderbent, happy new years btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-01 16:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17247830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibousuru/pseuds/kibousuru
Summary: "Marin knows about the idea that you kiss someone you love at midnight, but he’s not really sure he understands it."or rather the five times adrienne and marin almost have a new year's kiss and the one time they do





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like i'm going full circle with my first fic I posted on here being a ml fic and now the one leading into 2019 is one again-  
> also the whole new years kiss custom thing is mostly an american thing and i'm aware of that but the idea seemed great like four days ago when I had it  
> anyway, happy new years eve/new years depending on where you are

Marin knows about the idea that you kiss someone you love at midnight, but he’s not really sure he understands it. Especially now since there’s someone he wants to kiss. He had only met Adrienne a few months back at the beginning of the school year, but he was already aware that this was going to be something that was lasting.

Given the short amount of time he’s known the blonde, he’s also aware how strict her mother, Gildas Agreste, world famous fashion designer, is. So, he’s surprised that Adrienne actually ends up at the small gathering Alyn had put together in his house. Well, if you considered their whole class, minus a few that couldn’t make it, to be small, then it was a small gathering.

Nevertheless, Adrienne swept in about half an hour ago and all Marin had found himself doing was watching. “You could talk to her, you know,” Alyn points out, sipping from a cup. Considering they are only fourteen, Marin’s parents had provided sparkling cider as well as some pastries before retiring back down to the bakery.

Marin jumps, turning on his heel to face his friend. He can feel the blush rising up as he stumbles for words, not expecting to be caught staring at her. “Yeah, but, no,” he eventually gets out. Alyn just sighs and rolls his eyes.

“You’ll never be able to talk to her with that attitude.”

Marin frowns then glances over at Adrienne. “I guess that’s true,” he cedes.

Alyn gives him a reassuring smile and pat on the shoulder. “She’s not that hard to talk to,” he tells him, his eyes flicking to some point passed Marin before looking back at him. He’s about to ask if she’s behind him when he hears a voice say, “Hey guys.”

Not that it really shocked him at this point, Marin turns to see Adrienne smiling warmly at the two of them. “Hey, Adrienne. I’m glad to see you could make it,” Alyn greets. Marin eyes his friend from his peripheral and wonders how in the world he managed to sound so casual. He knew that if he tried to talk to her like that, it would most likely end up in backwards sentences and forgotten words.

She laughs, and it sounds angelic. “Yeah, but I might have snuck out, so don’t mention it to my mom,” she retorts with a wink and another giggle.

Marin feels himself flush at the wink, so he hides his view for a moment as he takes a sip from his own cup he had been holding. In the meantime, Nina had joined the three of them and playfully bumps her and Adrienne’s shoulders together.

“I think I’m rubbing off on you,” Nina jokes. It’s then that Marin realizes that he hasn’t said anything yet. It’s also not like he doesn’t know that Adrienne isn’t hard to talk to – he’s talked to her plenty of times as Ladybeetle without a problem, but that’s when anonymity is on his side – but he can’t help but feel nervous when he’s around her.

As the conversation continues around him, Marin finds himself in his own little world of anxiety of trying to find the words to say to Adrienne. He doesn’t just want to jump in with a new topic, but he isn’t listening to what they are talking about now, so it seems like that’s not exactly possible.

When their friends around the TV start to count down with the people on the screen, Marin manages to find some words. “I hope you don’t get in trouble for coming here,” he admits, his voice coming out quieter than he intends.

Still, Adrienne hears him and smiles. “I hope I don’t either, but I doubt I will.” The way she shrugs makes Marin think that maybe she’s snuck out like this before, but decides to not ask. As the clock hits midnight, he finds himself content just standing by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have the second chapter finished and the third one started, so be expecting updates asap since I'm stuck at a new years party. this chapter is short but the other ones will be longer (hopefully)  
> also as a writing major, i'm hoping that there aren't many errors, but since I did some vv light proofreading, there might be something I didn't notice


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot to mention that the pov is going to be shifting between adri and marin, but i think you would've gotten that whether or not i said anything- anyway here is my daughter adrienne  
> i feel like this one will probably be the weakest chapter, but the next chapter, i think since i'm almost done with it, is probably going to be one of the stronger ones so that makes up for it, right? if anything, i might change this chapter up when i'm done writing this whole thing (which i should have done rather than rushing to finish within the deadline i've set for myself)  
> i would also like to apologize for the akumatized dude since it's just the first thing i thought of and even though i did some major rewrites, i ight change it again

The next New Year's Eve, Adrienne finds herself unable to sneak out of her house for her friends’ get-together. If she’s being honest, she doesn’t mind. The business party Mother is hosting is more than enough right now. She feels bad to be happy about the party since all the people make the normally empty house feel full for once. 

It’s also not like she isn’t used to talking to people she hardly knows likes this. Now, while it doesn’t really bother her, she just wishes someone her age would be there rather than all these adults sipping on their champagne.

So, when she hears a rumble outside accompanied by the news broadcast of an akumatized citizen, Adrienne was more than happy to run up to her room to transform into her hero persona. Plagg, with few complaints for once, goes into her ring as soon as she says, "Plagg, claws out!" She wonders if her kwami could sense her growing boredom with the party and had wanted to get out. After all, with no pockets in her dress, Plagg had been stuck in Adrienne's room for a while now.

Once in her suit, Chat heads off to find Ladybeetle and the akumatized person. It doesn’t take long since it’s kind of hard to miss a man with a large megaphone that was walking down the road angrily. Spotting Beetle on a roof watching the man, she joins him.

“Ready to bring in the new year, bugaboo?” Chat asks, leaning onto his shoulder. He turns his head towards her and levels her with a look that says that they don’t have time for this at the moment.

Still, he responds to her with, “I would say so, but then this guy appeared.” Chat nods, moving off of his shoulder as he gets ready to swing after the man. As she follows after him asking if there’s a plan, she wonders what he was doing before showing up to get rid of the akuma. A part of her wishes she knew what he did as a civilian while another part thinks if she knew, it wouldn’t be as fun. She can't help but agree with the latter part.

“Well, the akuma is in his megaphone, I’m guessing, so we need to get it from him,” Beetle replies as he swings. “It’s just that whenever he turns it a certain way–“ He gets cut off when the man whirls on his heel and turns it to them, blowing them back. Chat finds herself being blown back until she extends her baton to have a grip to not go anywhere.

Swinging down, the man, who introduces himself as The Protester, continues on his journey. “I see what you mean,” she says with a soft snicker once she reaches Beetle’s side after he had landed. “Any ideas where he’s headed?”

Beetle looks around for a moment before nodding. “I have an idea,” he tells her. “I think he’s about to go crash a party.”

Having realized where they are with regards to New Year’s Eve festivities, she replies, “Then we better stop him fast.” After all, it was almost midnight when she had left her house and she would rather not have citizens being attacked when they couldn’t hear him coming.

They set off after him, landing between The Protester the Champs-Elysées where a large group of people had gathered for the light show that would begin at midnight. Chat looks back at the crowd behind them, seemingly unaware of the fact they were there with an akumatized man that could attack them at any moment.

“You think you could gather the citizens together and get them out of here for a little bit, kitten?” Beetle asks, swinging his yo-yo as The Protester gets closer, appearing to be caught up in his own thing to the point that he wasn’t noticing them.

Chat smiles, pushing away the fact that the nickname brought butterflies to her stomach. “Of course, my prince.” With that, she heads over to the group and starts to corral them together. Things seem to be going smoothly until The Protester comes closer as Beetle, doing his best to fend him off until the citizens are moved from the area, seems to be having a bit of a hard time.

As the breeze she had been feeling against her back gets more and more like a strong gust, she recognizes that the archway above her might not be the sturdiest thing to stand under depending on where the wind may hit. The Protester begins to speak into the megaphone, his words coming out loud and garbled, which only serves to make his weapon stronger.

Chat winces, covering an ear as she gently pushes the last few people in the area to follow the others to the Eiffel Tower for the time being as the latter landmark isn’t too far away. As she does so, she turns to run back and help Beetle, but is surprised to see little pieces of the Champs flying at her. She figures that The Protester must have created a crack somewhere when he began to talk into the megaphone.

On her way back to Beetle’s side to help him, she sees he had already called out his Lucky Charm, though he didn’t seem to know what to do with it. His attention is scattered, looking around the scene until he looks at her. Motioning for her to come over, she gladly leaves her spot by the Champs, not wanting to be hurt by some falling debris.

“Any ideas?” Chat asks, her voice barely audible to herself over The Protester.

Beetle nods. “Yeah. I just need you to distract him.”

“Will do,” she replies, blinking in confusion for a moment when he hands her the Lucky Charm, ear plugs. 

"I think it'll help with the noise," he says with a shrug. "I just need you to lead him to the road. I'm going to try and trip him." She glances down the sidewalk to see two light poles on either side of the path, envisioning what he could do. 

"Sounds good to me, bugaboo," Chat replies with a nod before jogging a bit closer to the man to gain his attention. Almost as soon as he sees her in his peripheral, The Protester turns to her and speaks into the megaphone, causing her to wince at the sound. She tries to quickly put in the ear plugs, glad they do muffle him a bit. Still, Chat runs towards the road, checking he's following her by glancing over her shoulder.

Once in the street, she can still feel the brunt of his noise, sliding back with the sheer amount of noise he was producing. The blonde notes that Beetle had already wrapped his yo-yo around the poles, The Protester trips, having been paying attention to Chat more than where he was walking. On his way down, he drops his megaphone, which Beetle snatches up before the akumatized man could get ahold of it again. Smashing the object on the ground, a little black butterfly flutters out of it.

Similar to all the times before, Chat watches in awe as Beetle captures and releases it once its black hue had been purified. Handing him back the ear plugs, he then fixes everything that had been disturbed by The Protester.

“Pound it!” Chat finds herself saying, fist bumping her partner while still looking at him in awe. The crowd she had moved to the Tower comes back, cheering as the light show starts. Chat looks over at it for a moment, her eyes following how the lights seem to dance together before looking back at him, the lights reflecting against him in a way that only made him more handsome.

A few seconds later, Beetle's miraculous beeps; his earring losing one of it's black dots to let him know he doesn't have a lot of time before he would turn back. It also serves as a wake up call to stop staring at her partner. Still, she didn't want to go home without doing something first, so Chat hesitates on her departure. 

“What is it?” Beetle asks, concerned as he saw her go to extend her baton before turning on her heel to face him instead.

Without answering, Chat heads back to her partner and presses a kiss to his cheek. “Happy New Year, bugaboo,” she says, giving him a cheeky wink and grin before heading back home.

 

That night, she finds herself laying in bed with a smile on her face and a warm feeling in her stomach over such a small action. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i _was_ going to post this during the party but i ended up actually enjoying the party for once which was vv odd and then i spent more time editing this chapter than i thought I would  
> anyway, this chapter isn't one of my favorites, but it's still part of their story. the next chapter and the +1 one are currently dueling each other for my favorite tbh  
> but still, in this chapter, she kisses his cheek, which objectively means they shared a new years kiss. I can hear yall saying 'but megan, that means they kissed' but let me raise you a 'but they didn't both kiss each other so ayy' bc in my head, i consider a new years kiss to be one that both parties participate in, which sounds hella weird, but that's not the point since i'm p sure yall get what i mean  
> also, happy new year!! it turned 12 while i was editing this chapter


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yes hello i relate w marin on a spiritual level bc feelings are v hard to convey, but i think he has a far easier time w it  
> also i'm vv hype that this has already hit over 100 views before i even posted this chapter so thank yall for that, comments and kudos are much appreciated

By the time the third year of knowing Adrienne comes to an end, Marin finds himself far more comfortable around her than he was in years prior. Sure, there were still times he stuttered through sentences or replaced words with other words that didn’t make sense when he talked to her, but he felt far less nervous than he used to.

Ever the wingman, Alyn had been trying to convince him to tell Adrienne for weeks now. Marin finally ceded that he would tell her at their New Year’s gathering, which Alyn agreed to.

But, now that the gathering is finally here, Marin second guesses himself. Well, he would say that he doesn’t second guess himself because of the gathering. In fact, he's perfectly okay until Adrienne walks in, happily chatting with Nina, but that’s not the point.

He doesn’t realize how much he is internally panicking until Alyn comes up to him and rests a hand on his shoulder. “You good, man?” He asks.

Marin just looks at him and feels like that serves as an answer in itself. He’s assuming it does since his friend quietly sighs and pats his shoulder. “I know you can do it,” Alyn reassures before heading off to see his girlfriend.

With his friend’s comment, Marin finds himself thinking about confessing to her. Sure, he wants to tell Adrienne how he feels, but he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or anything like that. He doubts that would happen though since Adrienne is pretty much a living embodiment of niceness, so there was no way Adrienne would just stop talking to him if he says he likes her. Still, there's a chance things could become awkward between them and that's not something he would want ever, especially now that he had warmed up to her over the past two years.

Before he’s given the opportunity to spiral any further, Adrienne approaches and greets, “Hi, Marin.” He blinks in surprise for a moment, hoping she doesn’t notice that he had been kind of zoned out.

“Hey,” he responds, glad that he got that out at least.

“It seems like everyone’s excited this year.” Once she pointed it out, Marin had to agree. The party last year, though disrupted by an akuma attack, wasn’t as rowdy as this one is turning out to be. 

"I wonder why," he hums out, taking a sip of his drink.

"Maybe it's because most of our class is dating." Marin looks at her, his heart racing despite knowing she has no idea that he likes her. But still, he couldn't disagree. Most of their class had found their significant other within their own tight knit class. 

"Good point." He wants to add a comment about how their best friends had ended up dating over a course of strange events. He feels like it'll be an odd conversation point when he's still set on telling her how he feels. But, when she brings it up, it seems to flow perfectly. It seemed to be an ability she had: to take everything something he was worried about and showing him that it was nothing to be concerned about.

Adrienne giggles, looking up at him in a way where Marin could feel the blush already creeping up the back of his neck. "It's funny how our friends ended up dating."

He doesn't know what to say other than, "Yeah," as they both cast their gaze on their friends sitting on the couch talking. Adrienne doesn't seem to mind, however, which he's thankful for. Still, he doesn't know what to make of it when she blurts out, "I'm glad you're not afraid of me anymore."

Marin looks at her, his eyes swimming with confusion. At no part of their friendship would he have said that he was afraid of her. He goes to reply when she backpedals quickly. "I-I didn't mean that to come out the way it did. It's just that not too long ago, you seemed to freak out every time I came close to you and you would hardly talk to me. I'm sorry, I probably just made this really weird," she says in a rushed explanation, avoiding looking directly at him as a flustered blush dusts her cheeks.

He's in no way offended by what she said. If anything, he finds it the smallest bit amusing with how much she is reminding him of himself. Even so, she isn't wrong with most of what she said, just that he wasn't afraid of her. He's just surprised that she had noticed his awkwardness around her and that she could compare it to now. He wonders what else she had noticed about him. "Don't worry about it," Marin reassures with a chuckle as he rests a hand on her shoulder causing her to look at him rather than the wall next to his head. "And I wouldn't say I was afraid of you necessarily. I think nervous is more accurate."

"Nervous?" Adrienne asks, her head tilting ever so slightly. "Why?"

Now _that's_ a question. 

"Well," he starts, trying to plan out what he would tell her. After all, he doesn't want to lie to her yet this isn't exactly the ideal way he planned on confessing to her. "I don't mean it in a bad way or anything, but you're just a tiny bit intimidating." It's not a lie, but it's definitely not the truth she wants to know.

Marin can tell that only further confuses her as her brows furrow. "Now, I mean intimidating in the way that you're the daughter of a famous fashion designer, but you're super nice and-" He cuts himself off before he could say too much more than that. Now that he has a moment to think about it, it doesn't seem like a good time to tell her. 

The way he cut himself off catches her attention, her gaze focused on searching his face for some sign of what he was going to say. As the countdown on the TV begins, which soon spreads to the rest of the room, Marin bites his lip. Now he wants to tell her how he feels, he really does, but he thinks that this would probably be a better conversation had in private. Still, he knows he can't just end out the year without acting on his feelings in some way.

"What were you gonna say?" She asks, taking a step closer to him as her eyes continue to search for an answer. Marin fidgets under her attention before taking a deep breath.

"It's not important now," he replies, the countdown reaching the halfway point.

Adrienne pouts, only drawing his eyes to her lips. "Why not?" She asks.

Marin hesitates, eyes flicking to his friends who are about to finish the countdown before he leans down to press his lips to her cheek. He isn't sure what she'll make of the kiss, so he doesn't linger long. If he's being honest, he's fully expecting a confused response that would only make him feel guilty. Instead of what he expects, he's greeted with Adrienne blushing and avoiding eye contact with him when he pulls away, the rest of the room cheering as the year starts anew. 

For a moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the room, but then he blinks.

Huh. That's _definitely_ not what he had been expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: the chapters are going to get longer w each update  
> chapter 2 and 3: lol  
> still, i really like this chapter but that's beside the point. and even though he kissed her cheek, i still don't consider it a new years kiss - consult the notes of the last chapter ig  
> also my bb gorl is understanding and i relate to her too much rip me  
> also, i was going to post this before i went to sleep last night then it ended up being 3 am and i reread this thing like four times while editing it and there was something bothering me w it so i waited till now to post it. no promises on the next chapter being posted within the next few hours, but that's what i'm aiming for since i'm working on that chapter now. and maybe this chapter will be edited again once i'm done with it all, but for now, i just want to get it out so i can feel somewhat accomplished


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: i'm gonna update soon  
> also me: doesn't touch this chapter until almost midnight after i posted the last one around 5pm and doesn't post it until 2:30am
> 
> this chapter, while i actually like it more than i thought i was going to, made me want to scream since it deleted the almost 1000 words i had written, which would have dropped me right before the ending and just aaa. i think i rewrite everything i had before, not perfectly of course bc my memory is shit, but i had the general idea i made the first time so i think that's good enough so if the chapter isn't the best, I'm going to say it's bc I had to rewrite most of it  
> also, this chapter starts the downturn the next chapter picks up with

When the next year comes to an end, Adrienne isn’t surprised to hear that Mother doesn’t want her going out. She can’t blame her honestly; she _did_ sneak out on Christmas and no one could get ahold of her until eventually came back herself. So, she figures this is a sufficient enough punishment.

If anything, being stuck in the house gives her more time to think about things, even if it means that she's been laying in bed for a while now. The thing is, though, that her thoughts keep pulling her back to last year’s New Year’s Eve party. Specifically the moments around when the countdown of the last ten seconds of the year began.

She’s aware that the kiss Marin had given her wasn’t exactly something friends would do, but she had had no idea what to do with it. If she’s being honest, she still doesn’t know what to do about it. Adrienne hardly knows how to deal with her own crush, which was another issue in and of itself, so what was she to do with the inkling that one of her close friends could like her?

Not that she’s blaming Marin or anything, but he’s managed to make her life just a bit more complicated. In the beginning of the year, she was still thinking over it all, then she realized that maybe she liked Marin back, even if just slightly more than a friend would. Over the past few months, however, Adrienne has come to the realization that she has a crush on him, as well as Ladybeetle.

It’s odd but makes sense to her in a way. It feels strangely natural to have a rush of nervousness and butterflies in her stomach when Marin would do something as simple as smile at her. But, the problem, if she could really call it that, comes in when she thinks about Beetle. Her feelings for him haven't wavered since the first time he captured an akuma, but what was she to do if she likes two people? Of course, she knows no matter what happens, her partner would always play a part in her life. After all, he’s been stuck with her for four years now and she doubts that’ll be changing any time soon.

Still, it's not like that fact helps her figure out her feelings.

Sighing and rolling onto her side, Adrienne looks out her windows, her eyes trailing after the falling snow. She wants to go outside to clear her mind, but Mother had forbade her on going anywhere without permission for some time. Normally, Adrienne would have been okay with accepting that punishment since it's not like she really went anywhere, but ever since she had received her miraculous, she found herself sneaking out often - well, how else would she leave as Chat? - and just exploring the city.

That's when it hits her that Mother had only said that _Adrienne_ can't leave the house. She had never said anything about  _Chat_ leaving the house.

Adrienne sits up, apparently disturbing Plagg who had been laying next to her head when she runs a hand through her hair. "What's wrong, kid?" The kwami asks, having been uncharacteristically quiet. In all honesty, Adrienne had forgotten Plagg was there for a bit considering she had been so quiet. The only thing that had given the kwami away was the stench of her cheese she insists on eating.

The blonde looks from the window over to the kwami. "I want to go for a walk," she says, a small smile pulling at her lips when she thinks about how that sounds.

"I swear you're a dog sometimes," Plagg huffs out in faux exasperation. Adrienne is more than aware that her kwami's concern for her extends further than just the fact that she has the Black Cat Miraculous. It's something she's learned over the years; there's more to some people than what they show on the surface and sometimes, you just have to take the time to find that out. Her kwami turns towards the window and says, "It looks like it's cold out, so I don't want to be out for long, okay?"

The blonde giggles and lightly pats Plagg's head. "If you keep talking like that, I'm going to think you're getting soft."

"Oh, shut it." 

Still, even though she knows that she'll only be gone for twenty minutes at the most, Adrienne feels guilty about this. She figures Plagg's slight hesitation to agree to her leaving in giving her a limitation is due to the fact she had snuck out not even a week ago. Nevertheless, the blonde still gets out of bed and says, "Plagg, claws out!"

As she heads to the window she usually leaves from, she passes in front of a mirror. Her black clad reflection stares back at her when she stops in front of it. Biting her lip, Adrienne nods to herself, assuring that this was the right thing to do considering all she wants to clear her mind, which she generally accomplishes by being out in Paris as Chat.

Once outside, Chat has to agree with what Plagg said. Despite her suit being thick, mostly to reduce the force of hits she could potentially sustain in a fight, it does little to block out the cold. She figures since she won't be long, she can deal with it. After all, she only wants to wander around for a few minutes to be able to go back to her room and go to sleep.

Since most of her normal hideouts, such as the Eiffel Tower and random rooftops, are too busy or filled with snow, Chat supposes she could just aimlessly walk around Paris. But, her aimless stroll turns into one where her legs take her to Marin's without realizing it.

Over the course of the year, she had dropped by more often as Chat than what was probably considered normal. Marin had never complained about it, though, so she assumed he doesn't mind her visits. Most of the time, she comes by to talk about something random until her mind had been thoroughly distracted from whatever she had been thinking about. Her mind softly supplies that he's a good listener, a reminder she could do without at the moment. She wonders whether or not her strange double friendship with Marin had helped her get these feelings towards him or if she had felt this way about him this whole time without realizing it.

She puffs out a sigh, her breath becoming visible in front of her in the cold for a moment before dissipating. Marin is one of the things she would rather not think about at the moment. Looking up at the house in front of her, she knows she can't bother him even if a part of her wants to see him The annual get-together should be happening right now and Adrienne can't find it in herself to see her friends, either in or out of her suit. It's odd, but it's not the first time she wants to be alone.

Figuring she still has a few minutes before she has to head back home, Chat goes up to the roof, where Marin and her would normally talk before she left. She knows she won't be bothering anyone up here and at this point, she's not sure she knows a better Calm Place at the moment. Leaning against the railing, she shivers, the cold metal still being felt through the suit.

As the snow continues to fall, Chat can feel herself relax, even though it's barely noticeable in the way her shoulders lose some of their tension. She's not sure whether it's because she's on Marin's roof or she can hear the muffled voices of her classmates coming from the living room. Whatever it may be, she smiles to herself.

When she notices the snow accumulating in her hair, she decides to leave. Just as she's heading home, she swears she sees a familiar set of blue eyes watching her when she passes over the door Marin has up to the roof.

 

That night, she falls asleep before the new year begins for the first time since she was a child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to the first chapter of deterioration tbh- this one and the next one don't end on such high notes as the last three did so have fun with that knowledge until i post the next chapter  
> sometimes i forget how much i love a thing until i get back into it. like i spent most of the last hours looking at danganronpa related things and now i want to go back and maybe continue the dr thing i have already or just write something else completely-  
> anywho, i'm hoping to post the next two chapters tomorrow. you may have noticed that i changed the amount of chapter from 6 to 7. that's bc i got an idea for an extra chapter that i think will tie things together better than how the +1 chapter would be ending it, but i'm not sure yet whether or not that chapter will end up being written  
> there's a few things i'd like to mention:  
> 1\. her leaving on christmas can be seen as this universe's version of the christmas special, but it doesn't exactly end up the same  
> 2\. adrienne is also v bad with feelings since she's still not the best with people, not having a lot of social skills given her years of homeschooling and being stuck in the house for most of her childhood (or at least that's how my headcanon goes), so that's why she hasn't really done anything with her feelings towards marin or beetle, though she does flirt with both of them as chat  
> 3\. another thing is that in adrienne's chapters, chat appears and i see that as her being more comfortable as her hero counterpart. it's sort of like the anonymity of it is nice and she thinks of it as a way to be herself


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i ended up finishing this way later than I wanted to but here we are anyway- sorry about it taking so long  
> if there's any errors I didn't catch when I proofread, it's probably bc I'm typing most of this chapter on my phone rather than my laptop  
> Also, if you're confused about who i mention in this bc more people are in this than the other ones (with actual dialogue now), there's a name list at the bottom

The fifth year they know each other finds itself coming to a conflicting end. Just under a week ago, Gildas Agreste was revealed to be Hawkmoth and since Ladybeetle and Chat Noire had caught her, no one has seen Adrienne.

While Paris as a whole can finally take a breath of relief because no other citizens would become akumatized any time soon, the citizens began wondering with bated breath if the model would say anything about the matter publicly. And so far, there has only been radio silence. She had stopped replying to texts days ago and the responses Marin, Nina, and Clovis had received were stilted and curt, short things to let them know she’s still alive.

They had come to a group decision that she needed time alone, but they would come to visit her soon. After all, it feels wrong to just leave her by herself in that house. And, Marin has an inkling she may have been closer to this entire thing than their friends even realize.

So, when New Year’s Eve comes, their friends gather together. For a moment, Marin wonders if a group of people coming along is the best idea since Adrienne hasn’t talked to anyone face-to-face in days. Still, he’s not about to deter them from seeing her as he wants to see her too, so he tags along.

His mind is too busy to really pay attention to the conversations his friends are having around him as they reach the house. He's quickly knocked out of his reverie when someone - Marin isn't sure who, maybe Nina or Clovis - says, "Hey, look, it's Adrienne!"

His eyes snap over to the front door to see Adrienne looking at them in confusion as she goes to leave the house. "What are you guys doing here?" She asks, holding the door open as she stands just inside the house. Marin notes that her voice sounds slightly hoarse, most likely since she hasn't talked to anyone in a while. Either that, or she had been crying, his mind supplies as a secondary option.

"We came to check on you," Marin pipes up.

Adrienne smiles, and though it seems slightly forced, he can tell that she means it. "Well, I was just about to head out to see you guys," she says, giving a small, awkward laugh. He can tell how odd she must feel with her friends' concerned gazes on her. She shifts on her feet before moving out of the doorway. "How about you guys come in?"

The group gladly takes the invitation and enters the house. Marin trails behind, waiting for Adrienne to shut the door once he enters. "How are you doing?" He asks quietly, not wanting to have everyone's attention on her again when it appeared to make her uncomfortable just moments before.

Her eyes flick over to him after gazing at their friend group. "I could be better, but I'm glad you guys are here," she responds truthfully. "I'm sorry I stopped answering."

"It's okay," he cuts in, not wanting her to feel any worse than she probably does at the moment. "You just needed time to think."

Adrienne looks at him gratefully, causing him to blush lightly. She nods and hugs him, "Thank you." While he hugs her back, he can only feel guilty. After all, he had helped uncover who Hawkmoth was. He could only imagine how she felt if he is right with his assumption. "I didn't want to be here by myself anymore."

"Of course," he replies softly before she pulls away. As he watches her go over to their friends, he wonders how long she'll put the facade of being okay up.

He figures that she is truly glad they showed up, but he's guessing that she was still going through things running amok in her head. He can't blame her; her mother had been found out to be the one that had been terrorizing Paris for years. Her mother had been the one he was fighting against, the one they _both_ were fighting against.

As the gathering that was usually held in his house began their festivities in the Agreste household - his brain tells him that she's alone in the huge house because of him - he finds himself watching the blonde flit between conversations.

"She shouldn't have to pretend like she's okay for us," a voice says from next to him. Marin jumps slightly before looking over at Clovis. "I didn't know you were such a scaredy cat, Dupain-Cheng." Most of the bite that the statement would have had years ago isn't present. Marin's not exactly sure how, but he and Clovis had settled most of their differences and have become friends.

He rolls his eyes, not dignifying the latter comment with a response. "I know what you mean," Marin agrees. "She's happy we're here, but I think we overwhelmed her."

Clovis clicks his tongue. "She's been overwhelmed her whole life. This is the first time in a long time that she's been free of Gildas's rule," he says, looking over at Adrienne. Marin sighs, not being able to refute that. "She was going to seek us out, though, so that's a good sign."

"That's true," Marin hums out. "We'll probably have to wait until she wants to talk about it."

"Knowing her, that probably won't happen for a while. Even when we were kids, she hated telling me about her problems, no matter how small they were."

Marin thinks back to all the times Chat had come to visit him on the roof. She always seemed to have something on her mind, but never said anything about it. She was content with anything other than what was bothering her. If Adrienne really is his flirty feline partner, he finds it to only be more proof towards his theory.

"Then I guess we'll just have to be here for her." Clovis sends him a smile after he says that and it looks far too friendly and knowing than he would prefer. "What?"

The blond waves his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. Just as her childhood friend, I'll tell you that being there for her would make her happy." At that, Marin narrows his eyes slightly and nods slowly. He's still trying to figure out why Clovis had even come over to him, let alone what that comment means, when said male leaves his side to find someone else to pester.

Marin checks the time and sees that there's about twentt minutes left in the year. With the remaining time, he decides to join in the card game Nathalie, Margot, and Royce were playing. It turns out that their game is an interesting amalgamation of several different games where the way you win is by getting rid of your cards. Margot ends up winning just in time for the final handful of minutes before the new year.

Glancing around, he sees that their friends have easily made themselves at home, which was something he had observed before now. Seeing Adrienne by Nina, he realizes that despite the happy smile she's wearing, she looks melancholy as she observes their friends in their small groups around the living room. He wants to approach her about it, but if what Clovis said was still true, then Marin knows Adrienne wouldn't be telling him anything any time soon.

As the last few minutes tick down, he watches as the groups that had been formed slowly break apart so that the couples were coming together. Marin finds himself sitting alone at the table they had been playing cards on. As the last ten seconds start, he notices that Adrienne has disappeared from the party.

The clock strikes midnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually like this chapter way more than I thought I was going to-  
> So the next chapter picks up where this one leaves off. Honestly, I can't believe I'm already at the +1 chapter- if I can write it tonight, then itll be up before I go to sleep bc I want to post it at a v specific time  
> Also, the whole part about hawkmoth being captured and her reaction to it is something I've wanted to write about for a while now and I still haven't just by itself. Maybe I finally will-
> 
> Name list:  
> Clovis - Chloe  
> Nathalie - Nathanael  
> Margot - Marc  
> Royce - Rose


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've spent way too much time worrying about the con i'm going to in march w my friends- anyway, my original plan for this fic was to have everything written by new years eve (which obviously didn't happen) so I could post the first five chapters on new years eve then post this chapter on new years day at the time mentioned towards the end of this chapter. it's only two days late, so i guess it's better than nothing though-

Adrienne brings in the new year by sneaking out of her house once more. This time, it’s without the help of her kwami and rather than exploring the city, she stays in the back garden. The swing Papa had set up for her years ago looks lonely.

She’s lightly swinging herself when the lights from the Champs illuminate part of the sky. As she watches the lights, her hands tighten on the rope holding the swing. She knows this year will be different, she’s just tried to push it away for as long as she could. But now, her friends were here to see her, in the house that has been as empty as it always felt, and she feels like she doesn’t belong. Everyone looks so happy, yet Adrienne can’t make herself feel the same.

After all, how do you make yourself feel better after putting your own mother in jail and finding out why she was doing what she did?

She doesn’t realize she’s crying until the door she had left out of opens and Marin walks out. The blonde quickly swipes at her eyes, not wanting him to worry about her. New Year’s was supposed to be a day of celebration and letting the past year go, right? Still, as Marin approaches, she can’t find it in herself to let the past week go.

“Hey,” he greets softly once he gets close enough. Adrienne shoots him a forced smile, returning her gaze back to the dark, cloudy sky. The air between them feels heavier than it normally does, but she assumes it’s because there’s so much she’s keeping inside. Of course, she feels bad about just making him stand outside in the cold while she pretty much just ignores him.

So, she looks over at him, ignoring the jolt of surprise she gets when she sees that he had been watching her and mumbles out, “Happy New Year.” Still, it’s not like she’s particularly excited for the days and weeks to come, so the statement comes out a bit flat.

Nevertheless, Marin smiles at her and returns the sentiment, though she can tell by the look he’s giving her that he knows she’s just not feeling it. She has to admit that she appreciates he can understand that without her really having to say anything. Adrienne looks away from him, finding his footprints in the snow far more interesting as she thinks about how she was alone at eighteen; her mother is going to prison, her father is still missing, Nasim is in police custody for helping her mother, and all she had been left with was the house.

“I’m sorry,” he eventually says. She blinks a few times to keep her tears at bay before looking at him.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she responds. “After all, it’s not your fault.” She wants to end that with saying it’s her fault, but she doesn’t feel right with basically admitting she’s Chat Noire. Well, it would be obvious if he managed to get that from what she said. Looking back at the snow, she wipes under her eyes.

He manages to surprise her, though, when he says, “But it kind of is, kitty.” At the nickname, she snaps her eyes back over to him. The only person who ever called her that was Beetle. Could it be…?

She stares at him in disbelief for a few seconds longer before saying, “I never knew how close you were, my prince.”

“I didn't know until recently. I’m sorry,” he repeats and she understands. Adrienne wishes she could apologize too.

As her eyes fill with tears once more, she asks, “Do you… Do you think we did the right thing?” When he doesn’t say anything, she continues. “Mother told me why she was trying to get our Miraculouses. She was trying to get Papa back. She’s been trying to find a way to get him back for years. Maybe I judged her wrong. She was trying to keep me safe by homeschooling me, then when I started public school, everything just went _so wrong_.”

Adrienne looks at him once again, and though her tears had begun to fall, she doesn’t mind. The chill of the winter air on her tear tracks remind her that maybe she deserves this. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?” She whispers out.

Marin is quick to refute that. “Adrienne, no, it’s not. It was just a series of events that couldn’t have been stopped.”

“But what if I did stop her? There were so many times I could have, _we_ could have, but we just didn’t try hard enough.”

He reaches out and rests a hand on her shoulder. “We didn’t know,” he supplies softly. She sniffles and wipes at her face. The chill was starting to get to her as she shivers. He must feel it as he says, “How about we go inside?”

Adrienne hesitates for a moment before nodding. When she gets up from the swing, Marin moves his hand from her shoulder. She looks at it for a second or two before holding it in her own. “Sorry,” she says quietly when she can tell her hand is far colder than his.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replies, giving her hand a light squeeze.

Heading towards the house, she admits, “I don’t think I can see them yet.” This earns her another hand squeeze, though she did already tell everyone they could stay overnight in a spare room if they want to.

“That’s okay,” he reassures as he opens the door and the two of them enter the house. She pauses, listening to their friends talk as she takes her boots off. She wonders if they’ll notice they disappeared from the group. Marin takes hold of her hand once more, having dropped it so they could walk into the house. The gentleness of his actions brings a small, albeit genuine smile to her face.

He leads her up the back stairs to her room and for the first time, she’s grateful for the size of her house. Walking into her room, she can feel her cheeks warm since her room is a bit of a mess with the bed unmade and things cluttering the desk.

Not like Adrienne is expecting him to in the first place, but Marin doesn’t comment on the state of her room. “What do you want to do?” He asks.

She bites her lip, reluctantly letting go of his hand to get a tissue. “Can we just watch a movie or something?” She asks in a quiet voice, not really wanting to talk about anything.

When he sends her a warm smile, there’s a rush of butterflies in her stomach. “Of course we can.” The blonde then goes to her coffee table and grabs the remote, looking between the bed and the couch to try and decide to sit before settling on bed.

As they sit side by side against the headboard of her bed, Adrienne feels as if this is normal; as if this has been something they did often, not that she was complaining of course. While flipping through channels to find late night reruns and movies, she finds her head easily drifting over onto his shoulder. It doesn’t take long for her to cuddle into his side, happy to have human contact.

Glancing over at her friend, she stifles a giggle, being able to see a blush on his cheeks while he wraps an arm around her. If she’s being honest, this is what she wanted with him, and Beetle for that matter, but the circumstances around it make her feel guilty for even enjoying the moment.

Adrienne does her best to busy her mind from spiraling down once more by focusing on the movie she had settled on a few minutes prior. She wonders why she can’t seem to hold focus for long, but doesn’t get an answer, getting distracted when the two main characters in the movie kiss. The blonde looks up at Marin.

Thankfully, he doesn’t notice. Adrienne finds herself blushing now, having been thinking about kissing him. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought of it before, but she was now curled against his side, which seems like a far worse – well, not worse, but not as good as a situation to be having those thoughts as it would be if she was alone – position to be in.

Trying her hardest to focus on the movie once more, she begins to drift off. Crying and socializing with friends was tiring, who knew. Just as she closes her eyes, she feels him shift. Peeking her eyes open, she asks, “What time is it,” when she sees his phone in his hands.

“Almost one,” he responds, glancing over at her. He doesn’t say anything else but begins to get out of her bed.

Adrienne pouts sleepily, holding onto his wrist. “You can stay here,” she says, not really wanting to be alone in her room anymore. That and he is a pretty nice heat source, she has to admit.  He looks at her briefly before settling next to her once more. She smiles and happily reattaches herself to his side to go back to siphoning his heat.

As she cuddles back into his side, she thinks about kissing him once more. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, she figures why not. As the clock reads a red 1:00, she leans up and kisses him, her fingers carefully turning his head towards her and remaining on his jaw.

Pulling away, she can see that he’s obviously flustered as he splutters for a moment before asking why she kissed him. Giggling, she smiles at him. “I’ve been meaning to for a while,” she admits before gesturing at the clock. “And it’s a new years kiss since it’s New Year’s somewhere else.”

Marin blinks, seemingly still trying to get used to the fact she had kissed him. In the meantime, Adrienne shifts in her bed to lay down, which he follows in suit.

 

She ends up falling asleep with a smile, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this year won’t be absolutely horrible after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i'm considering writing one more chapter still so it technically fits the 5+1 theme i have set out for this. if anything, it'll be out late tonight or tomorrow depending on if/when i write it  
> anyway, thank you guys for actually reading through this whole thing and liking it even though it seems subpar to me, but that's not the point. my next semester at college doesn't start until the 22nd so you might see me back before then since i still have some time, but no promises
> 
> Name List:  
> Nasim - Nathalie

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me on my [tumblr](allhaillordcanada.tumblr.com)


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